Pearl agrees to extension with Tennessee

Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) – Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl
has agreed to a one-year contract extension that will keep him with the
Volunteers through the 2012-13 season.

The new agreement, which has yet to be finalized, increases Pearl’s annual
total compensation package to $1.3 million for the 2007-08 season, with
$100,000 increases in each of the following five years.

“Not only is Coach Pearl one of the very best coaches in the nation, but more
importantly, he has become a great ambassador for our university during his
tenure at Tennessee,” said school president Dr. John Petersen.

Pearl has spent just two seasons at Tennessee, but has already built the
program into one of the best in the SEC. The Volunteers were 22-8 in his first
season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Last season’s squad finished 24-11 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA
Tournament, losing to eventual national runner-up Ohio State.

“The University of Tennessee has so much to offer — from great academic
programs to incredible athletic resources to the most passionate fans in the
country,” said Pearl. “I look forward to being the men’s basketball coach at
Tennessee for many more years.”

Pearl took over at Tennessee after four successful seasons at the University
of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was 86-38 with the Panthers, leading the Horizon
League school to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.

Before his run at UWM, Pearl spent nine years at Division II Southern Indiana,
compiling a 231-46 record. He also spent 14 years as an assistant at Stanford,
Boston College and Iowa before taking over at Southern Indiana in 1992.